Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
UPDATE: The Shorpy commentariat lost no time in identifying the butler as actor-restaurateur Arthur Treacher.
New York, 1952. "Martha Raye rehearsing skits for her television show; in dress rehearsal; includes shots of cameras, sound equipment and sets." The All-Star Revue host with her cigarette and sponsor's cereals. Photo by Charlotte Brooks for the Look magazine article "Perpetual Commotion." View full size.
I was 16 months old when the '60s ended, and I'm not a kid. I'll be 45 in August. My first memory of what year it was is when my dad put on the '71 license plates (back then, you got a new set every year in many states, including Texas). I remember the '70s in fits and starts, and the '80s pretty well, and I am interested in looking at any well-crafted photo, but particularly any before the digital age, when we all began to snap with wild abandon, knowing we weren't paying for film and processing.
I'm with TimG on Arthur Treacher. I had no idea he was a real person, and actually did think he was a fictional pirate. I see an analogy to Chuck Taylor, whose eponymous footwear became a cult item to punk rockers and other misfits in the '80s and '90s, including yours truly. We assumed he must have been a famous athlete, back in the days before the Converse All-Star was obsolesced in professional basketball, but to us he could just as easily have been invented by some marketing department.
But now, in the Age of Google and Wikipedia, we know.
Not only do I remember watching Martha Raye on TV when I was a little guy in the 1950s, but I had the pleasure of meeting her while flying aboard a C-130 during one of her many trips to Vietnam.
That would include a substantial number of regular Shorpy viewers and the people who continue to provide us with interesting and varied images day after day, absolutely free of charge.
When I encounter a picture that doesn't necessarily interest me, I move on to the next one.
I guess an ALL-CAPS DIATRIBE would be another option.
I grew up eating Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips in the '70s and to this day had no idea it was started by an actor. I've always assumed Arthur Treacher was a pirate (fictional or otherwise), like his competition at Long John Silver's. I remember being very disappointed when the local Arthur Treacher's closed down, and I had to start eating fish that was actually good for me.
Martha Raye's exemplary service to the Army - including trips to Vietnam to entertain the Green Berets - earned her a funeral with military honors. Raye, who died in Los Angeles at age 78, requested several years [earlier] to be buried at Fort Bragg, home of the Green Berets. [S]he was to get her wish after a ceremony with a flag-draped casket and military pallbearers. Raye entertained troops in Vietnam for nine straight years, four months a year, spending much of the time with isolated Special Forces detachments in camps all over the country. Normally, only active duty and retired Army personnel are buried on post, but the Defense Department granted an exception for Raye, who was made an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
JUST WANT TO LODGE MY PROTEST THAT THE 1950S 1ND 1960S ARE NOT 100 YEARS AGO YET!
TV and Look Mag. are less and less interesting the more I see of them. (especially LOOK with its staged faked shots of celebrities of the time.Not a glorious time in media.
OLD towns, cities, countrysides, and people get more interesting the more I see of them.
Lou.
I did nto know that Martha Raye had such nice-looking legs. Hubba, hubba!
Mr. Treacher was not a "frequent guest" on the Merv Griffin show -- he was the announcer.
Looks like John Wayne.
[It's Arthur Treacher in a sketch called "The Butler," broadcast May 24, 1952. - Dave]
Arthur Treacher was the Ed McMahon sidekick to Merv Griffin on his late night TV show. He was with Griffin from 1965 to 1970. When the show was moved to Los Angeles, Treacher declined to go, saying he was too old to live any place that shakes.
Probably best remembered as the policeman on the telephone at the end of Mary Poppins when Mr Banks returns home after being fired.
Looks like Arthur Treacher to me.
Looks like the man may have been Arthur Treacher. Great character actor, often played a snooty yet kindly butler. He had a fish and chips business for a while.
I remember seeing Arthur Treacher as a frequent guest on Merv Griffin's show.
I remember her from Polident commercials, and an occasional variety show cameo when I was growing up. "Take it from the big mouth".
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5